Real Madrid appoint Carlo Ancelotti as new coach as Laurent Blanc takes over at PSG

Updated
Wed Jun 26 07:55:49 EST 2013

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New beginnings: Carlo Ancelotti has been named the new manager at Real Madrid, replacing Jose Mourinho.

Stu Forster: Getty Images

Carlo Ancelotti has been appointed as the new coach of Real Madrid on a three-year deal and will be formally presented to the media later this afternoon.

The 54-year-old's protracted move from Paris Saint-Germain was finally confirmed after the French champions also appointed Laurent Blanc to be their coach for next season.

That cleared the path for Madrid to end a five-week wait to announce their new boss after it was announced Jose Mourinho would not be continuing at the club on May 20.

However, the former Juventus, AC Milan and Chelsea boss has always been Real president Florentino Perez first choice to replace Mourinho and arrives with a impressive CV.

"Carlo Ancelotti will be the coach of Real Madrid next season," said a statement on the club's website.

"He has won practically everything in the ambit of international football (two Champions Leagues, two European Supercups, One World Club Cup and One Intertoto Cup) and has won the league in three different championships in which he has managed (Italy, England and France).

"Familiar with the pressure of managing big teams on the continent, the Italian is a guarantee to manage an exciting project."

Ancelotti gets player backing

It is that experience that Madrid have bet on after a tumultuous final year under Mourinho in which Real failed to win a major trophy and the Portuguese clashed with many of his senior players.

And his appointment has been backed by defender Sergio Ramos, one of those who had a public clash with Mourinho last season.

"You can only say good things about his CV and what he's shown at a global level," he said on Tuesday at a press conference ahead of Spain's Confederations Cup semi-final with Italy.

It is Ancelotti's proven track record in the Champions League in particular that attracted Perez as winning a 10th European Cup remains Madrid's primary objective.

After falling short at the semi-final stage under Mourinho for the past three seasons, Perez has now entrusted Ancelotti to take what is currently the most expensive squad ever assembled in the history of the game the extra two stages required to land Madrid's first Champions League trophy since 2002.

The Italian's arrival is also likely to signal the beginning of major moves in the transfer market from the Spanish giants who have so far just exercised their right to buy-back Spanish under-21 international Dani Carvajal from Bayer Leverkusen and converted 21-year-old Brazilian Casemiro's loan deal from Sao Paulo into a permanent move in recent weeks.

The purchase of Malaga midfielder Isco for a price in the region of 30 million euros ($AU42.4m) is also expected to be completed this week as Real look set to beat off strong competition from Manchester City for the highly rated Spanish international.

Real have also been strongly linked with a move for Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale and Liverpool's Luis Suarez, however one of Ancelotti's first jobs may be to sanction a few transfers out of the club to create the funds for future moves.

Striker Gonzalo Higuain has spoken of his desire to leave the club and his father admitted on Sunday that the player was close to reaching an agreement with both Arsenal and Juventus.AFP